MagickalMemories wrote:What CAN go and what SHOULD go are not the same things.
I have received Vallejo paints and craft paints in the mail recently, both via usps.
Eric
And I've removed: crushed rings, bracelets, necklaces, smart keys, car remotes, dog biscuits, jump drives, thumb drives, all sorts of crushed and melted candy, human hair, human teeth & dentures, buttons, pens, pencils, magnets, name tags, various commemorative pins, soap, shampoo, body wash samples & packets and good old cash; from the letter sorting machines.
All because they were put in an envelope and mailed. All were either sent to the lost & found and then to the dead letter office; or just thrown away. The cash is kept by USPS, most everything else, is held for a time and then thrown away.
That is just from the letter machines. The machines that sort large envelopes [called flats] and the machines that sort small parcels and bundles; also are all automated. They can shred and destroy bigger items.
Most times damage to mail is because it was packed improperly or something near it was.
Think of it as driving down the highway and going into tunnels. The vehicles in front of you can cause you to get into a wreck, no matter how well you drive.
Anything can be shoved in to an envelope or box and be put in the mail; whether it's against the law or mailing regulations or not.
Most things, if packed and packaged properly can be mailed. As I'm pointing out, some pose specific packing problems. One thing that everybody on this site uses; paint, is such an item.
Aerosol paints can not be shipped USPS at all. They can not go on airplanes. They can explode and destroy a plane.
The point of my original post was to try to inform others about problems they can run into by just 'throwing them into an envelope or old box' and mailing.
I just had a newer trader offer me "How about $2 tobthrow the in an envelope?" for some bits. That won't work. Bits will cut through an envelope and/or be crushed. They'll need to be put in a padded envelope.